Briana Simms

Briana Simms is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. She joined UC as tenure-track faculty in Summer 2023.

Education:

• B.S. in Biochemistry, Mathematics, and Biology from Xavier University of Louisiana (2012)
• Ph.D. in Chemistry with focus on Organic Polymer Synthesis & Biomaterials from the University of Mississippi (2016)
• Post-doctoral fellowship at Duke University (2021–2023)

Her research focuses on designing novel biomaterials to address public health challenges, particularly soft biomaterials like lipid nanoparticles (for drug delivery) and hydrogels (for wound healing). She emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches combining polymer chemistry, materials science, and biomedical applications.

Grants:

• PhRMA Foundation Grant (2024–2024): Leading as Principal Investigator (PI) with $100,000 allocated for evaluating self-assembling dendrimer-lipid nanoparticles in targeted drug delivery.